Pets
Related: About this forumMy cat, Holly, hates having her belly touched.
She absolutely will not have it and she does not play. Her ears go up; her teeth get bared; her claws come out; and she goes in for the kill. Today, I found out the hard way she doesn't like having her back legs stroked either.
I guess all that's left is top of the body petting and around the face scritches since she has so many "do not touch" zones.

Permanut
(7,040 posts)Mine wants to be picked up, then within two seconds wants to go back on the floor.
chia
(2,541 posts)
MIButterfly
(305 posts)Thanks, chia!
chia
(2,541 posts)the parts he does love, I can't overdo it.
wendyb-NC
(4,196 posts)One of my cat's doesn't like his belly touched. His sister, doesn't mind it.
multigraincracker
(35,472 posts)ShazzieB
(20,347 posts)My Logan, who was my baby boy from 2003 until his passing in January 2018, could not STAND to have his belly touched. He didn't seem to want to be petted at all at first, but I soon found that there was an area on his back where he was willing to be stroked. It took a while, but he learned to enjoy it, and the boundaries of the touchable area got bigger as time went on. But the belly was ALWAYS off limits.
A few months after he passed, we adopted Willow, who adores being petted and can't get enough of it. She even likes belly rubs. Sometimes, when she's in the mood, until she gets tired of it. She tends to get tired of it sooner than I would like, but it is glorious while it lasts!
On the whole, I think cats tend to be less into belly rubs than dogs. Ime, some like it, but usually only up to a point, and a lot of them never really go for it. Like everything about cats, we have to content ourselves with what they are willing to allow.
My other cat LOVES belly rubs. She will grab my hand with her front paws, put her teeth on my hand (but never bite down), and kick with her hind legs, just like a kitten. She's almost 14 now and for the most part her kittenish ways are behind her, except that she still loves the belly rubs.